It's been awhile since I have sat down to flesh out some thoughts regarding recent DVD releases and new films in the theaters, but I wanted to call attention to the films anyways:

I was hoping to give a full fledged review to Tim Burton's vision of "Alice in Wonderland," but I fell asleep during the film. I remember that it was colorful.  That may be review enough...

"Date Night" was really funny and even deeper than one might expect. It's a great ride, but the strength of the film squarely depends on your feeling about its leads (whom I really like). Otherwise, the story and comedic territory will feel mostly familiar.

"In The Loop" is probably really funny - but seeing as I don't know the ins and outs of politics, I didn't appreciate it or get it like I probably should have. Also, I normally can stomach verbal vulgarities, but some of it was pointlessly strong in this one. A rental for the curious is recommended.

"Gentleman Broncos" had one of my favorite trailers of the year (surveillance doe's!), but was an unfathomably bad movie. I had a hard time believing all the bad reviews after having seen the trailer, but after having seen it it just goes to show how misleading those 2 minute clips can be.  Remember "Garden State"?  Anyways, Jemaine Clement is great, but the rest of this movie was as terrible as anything I've seen in a long time. Reliance on vomit and testical humor seem to further diminish the fun that could have been had.

Speaking of awesome movie trailers, "Black Dynamite" was another favorite trailer. Though I am not a blaxploitation cinema devotee, the film still delivers big laughs, kung fu, and a 100 dollar suit. See the trailer on youtube and give it a rent. It's what "Undercover Brother" tried to be, but instead of mimicking "Austin Powers," "Black Dynamite" aims to recreate the period - complete with music, film grain, and costumes. A scene about Little Richard had me in stitches. It's all about the wink and a smile.

Speaking of smiling but not much else, I think I am one of only several who appreciated "Couples Retreat." I'll agree that the humor is very "meh" and Vince Vaughn's presence is starting to feel stale.  However, it was great to see a film where the couples represented a stage nearly all people in committed relationships can identify with. Worth discussing, but an overall missed opportunity.

I have now seen "A Serious Man" 3 times. Like the Coens previous work "No Country For Old Men," this is a movie that just keeps on giving. Repeated viewings have illuminated various themes and meanings, while leaving all of the wit and irony in its place. A most recommended film, but be prepared to talk about it afterwards.

"The Fantastic Mr. Fox" is a great rental, but had it been directed by anyone else I doubt I would have cared. Wes Andersons stop motion world is indeed fun to take part in, and his OCD camerawork is given that much more control. However, the humor felt misguided. Maybe its just me, but putting The Rolling Stones in the soundtrack for this type of a movie feels like its trying a tad much. It's possibly my least favorite film of his, but hardly bad.

Speaking of Wes Anderson, here's my Wes ratings from favorite to least - Rushmore, Bottle Rocket, The Darjeeling Limited, The Life Aquatic, The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

On the TV end of things, "Mad Men" is the television show that just keeps on giving. If you haven't seen it, give it a go. Season 3 just hit your local retailer. Great writing, great characters, and great visual detail create a world I can't help but be curious with.

"Modern Family" is growing on me immensely, but the comparisons to "Arrested Development" are not even close. You see, "Arrested Development" is the greatest show in the history of mankind. There is no show in memory (and I'm thinking of Seinfeld too) that has tighter writing, consistent energy, and brilliant characters (I stress that I rarely use the word brilliant to describe something). But for what it is, it delivers lots of great laughs.

Speaking of laughing, I want to point out how thankful I am that "Flight of the Conchords" stopped. Season 2 was hardly the amazingness that was Season 1.

There's the fun if (incredibly) formulaic "30 Rock." It's enjoyable enough this season with plenty of laughs, but something about the proceedings feels too easy. Maybe its the fact that most of the jokes rely on a 3 step system, where one of the 3 stated things is going to obviously be a pun. And, for someone like Tina Fey who appears to have a disdain for "Family Guy," it seems odd to continue the stream of cutaways...

Speaking of the Griffin family, I have come to realize that "Family Guy" is the TV equivalent of junk food - a guilty pleasure that is hardly satisfying, usually indulged in as a result of cravings, and is often gross. Yet...I still consume.

I hear that the Criterion Collection is going to be releasing "The Darjeeling Limited" and "The Thin Red Line" on bluray, which gets me excited. Any chance we could pursuade them to take it further and give us Malick's first film "Badlands" and Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodyson's "Lilja 4-Ever"?

What have you seen lately?